Russians Fire Back After Cher Snubs Olympics Over Gay Rights

MOSCOW—After hearing that legendary pop diva Cher had rejected an offer to be part of the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Russia in protest over the country’s gay “propaganda” law, the organizing committee for the games now says that’s fine — they never wanted her anyway.

“There have never been any negotiations with Cher about her possible participation in the ceremonies,” the committee said in a statement.

The “If I Could Turn Back Time” singer told Canadian magazine Macleans in a Q&A published last week that she had been invited by a friend to perform at the games but immediately said no.

“I can’t name names, but my friend called who is a big oligarch over there, and asked me if I’d like to be an ambassador for the Olympics and open the show. I immediately said no. I want to know why all of this gay hate just exploded over there. He said the Russian people don’t feel the way the government does,” she was quoted as saying.

Cher’s Los Angeles-based representatives couldn’t immediately be reached for comment. Cher has a large gay fan base and her son, Chaz Bono, is transgender.